Feature
Weigh-in-motion for controlling excess loads
Bernard Jacob Deputy Scientific Director - Transport, Infrastructure and Safety, Scientific Directorate (DS) at IFSTTAR, the French Institute for Sciences and Technologies of Transport, Planning and Networks; and French-speaking Secretary of the Technical Committee 2.3 Freight transport
Louis-Marie Cottineau Director of the Structures and Integrated Instrumentation (SII) Laboratory, Components and Systems Department (COSYS) at IFSTTAR, the French Institute for Sciences and Technologies of Transport, Planning and Networks
Jean-Michel Simonin Pavement Monitoring Research Project Manager, Materials and Structures Department (MAST) at IFSTTAR, the French Institute for Sciences and Technologies of Transport, Planning and Networks
Europe's commercial freight fleet has now reached 6.5 million vehicles, including 500,000 in France. These vehicles are responsible for transporting over 1,500 billion ton-kilometers annually (with France's share evaluated at 300 billion), thus accounting for 75% of all freight traffic. On average, a single truck covers 100,000 km/year, though this figure masks a wide disparity depending on vehicle type and use. In France, between 8% and 12% of trucks carry loads in excess of authorized limits. This extra load may pertain to just a single axle, a set of axles or the entire weight and, in many cases, to combinations of these three at the same time. The majority of excess loads remain within 10% of the limit, but significant weight overages of 20% or more have been recorded.